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NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni agreed Monday to end their legal feud over the acrimonious production of their 2024 film \u201cIt Ends With Us,\u201d averting a trial that threatened to further tarnish their reputations and expose the dark side of Hollywood moviemaking.<\/p>\n
The costars turned courtroom adversaries settled the civil case two weeks before they were to go to trial in New York on Lively\u2019s claims that Baldoni conspired with publicists to preemptively destroy her reputation after she privately accused him of sexually harassing her on the movie set.<\/p>\n
\u201cRaising awareness, and making a meaningful impact in the lives of domestic violence survivors \u2014 and all survivors \u2014 is a goal that we stand behind,\u201d Lively and Baldoni said in a joint statement issued through their lawyers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is our sincere hope that this brings closure and allows all involved to move forward constructively and in peace, including a respectful environment online.\u201d<\/p>\n
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By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Central Ontario Broadcasting, 431 Huronia Rd, Barrie, Ontario, CA, https:\/\/www.cobroadcasting.com. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe\u00ae link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.<\/p>\n Lively, 38, sued Baldoni, 42, and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, at the end of 2024. Weeks later, Baldoni sued Lively, accusing her, her husband \u2014 \u201cDeadpool\u201d actor Ryan Reynolds \u2014 and their publicist of defamation and extortion.<\/p>\n Baldoni, who directed the dark romantic drama and starred in it with Lively, had denied harassing her or orchestrating a smear campaign. He\u2019d claimed the complaints about his behavior were made up by Lively as part of an effort to seize creative control of the movie.<\/p>\n Monday\u2019s settlement came after a federal judge in Manhattan tossed some of each actors\u2019 claims.<\/p>\n Last June, Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed Baldoni\u2019s defamation and extortion lawsuit. In April, he threw out Lively\u2019s sexual harassment claims, ruling that she couldn\u2019t pursue them under federal law because she was an independent contractor rather than an employee on the movie set.<\/p>\n In their joint statement, the parties said they recognize that Lively\u2019s concerns \u201cdeserved to be heard\u201d and that they \u201dremain firmly committed to workplaces free of improprieties and unproductive environments.\u201d<\/p>\n The trial, now no longer necessary, had been scheduled to begin with jury selection on May 18.<\/p>\n \u201cIt Ends With Us,\u201d an adaptation of\u00a0Colleen Hoover\u2019s bestselling 2016 novel about a relationship devolving into domestic violence<\/a>, was released in August 2024 and\u00a0exceeded box office expectations<\/a>\u00a0despite\u00a0criticism that it glorified abuse<\/a>. Lively and Baldoni\u2019s fractious falling out took attention away from the film, overshadowing its message and success.<\/p>\n \u201cThe end product \u2014 the movie \u2018It Ends With Us\u2019 \u2014 is a source of pride to all of us who worked to bring it to life,\u201d Lively and Baldoni said in their statement.<\/p>\n Lively said in her lawsuit that during filming, Baldoni made inappropriate comments about her appearance, violated physical boundaries while filming a love scene, and pushed for nudity \u2014 against Lively\u2019s wishes \u2014 during a scene in which her character was giving birth.<\/p>\n Baldoni denied doing anything outside the realm of the normal creative process of making a movie.<\/p>\n The judge, in the decision tossing out the sexual harassment claims, acknowledged the complexity of the matter, noting that creative artists \u201cmust have some amount of space to experiment within the bounds of an agreed script without fear of being held liable for sexual harassment.\u201d<\/p>\n The trial was to focus on Lively\u2019s claim that Baldoni and the studio retaliated against her sexual harassment complaints by hiring publicists to turn the public against her. Her lawyers said that campaign including hiring a \u201cdigital army\u201d to post bogus negative content about Lively on social media platforms, and feeding \u201cmanufactured content to unwitting reporters.\u201d<\/p>\n The lawsuit said the purpose was to \u201cretaliate against Ms. Lively by battering her image, harming her businesses, and causing her family severe emotional harm.\u201d<\/p>\n Baldoni\u2019s lawyers have claimed it was Lively who was strategically manipulating Baldoni\u2019s public image, partly by leveraging help from her famous friends.<\/p>\n Lively appeared in the 2005 film \u201cThe Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants\u201d and the TV series \u201cGossip Girl\u201d from 2007 to 2012 before starring in films including \u201cThe Town\u201d and \u201cThe Shallows.\u201d<\/p>\n